Which crowd?

This week is Passion week. The days between Jesus entering Jerusalem to the adulation and adoration of the crowds, to being placed on trial for blasphemy and taken to the Roman death sentence of crucifixion.
The approaching weekend is probably the most significant few days in the Christian calendar. This time of year draws our attention to the sacrifice that Jesus made for us to bring us back into a restored relationship with God.
I have been contemplating some of the different crowds that have played a part in that week.

We have the crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with praise, palm branches and proclaiming Him the coming king. They were there because maybe they had seen or even received a miracle from Jesus. They wanted to be part of this movement that they thought would sweep the Roman invaders from their promised land.

Then there was the crowd a few days later at Jesus' trial. Led by the religious and societal leaders, they shouted "Crucify him." There were possibly those from the crowd a few days earlier that were proclaiming their king.

Then on the day we now call "Good Friday" there was the small crowd that stood at the foot of the cross. Standing with their dreams in tatters and their hearts broken as their Rabbi, teacher, friend and master hung from the cross. I don't just want to be part of the crowd that gets carried along in the praise and worship of Jesus but is unable to go the distance to stand at the foot of the cross. I love the passion and vibrancy of our style of praise and worship, but lets not have it stop there. We need to make our way to the foot of the cross.

This Easter make a decision to be in the crowd that will stand at the cross and remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Then also remember that He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our own cross and follow His way. When our dreams are seemingly dead and our hearts broken, when our marriage has failed, maybe our sickness is persistent or the notice of redundancy has come through- what do we do? Do we become part of the crowd that has moved from singing the latest Hillsong song loudly to proclaiming that God doesn't care or isn't listening or maybe even denying He is real? Or do we make our way to the foot of the cross and remember that even if we never 'feel' God's love again we know with every fibre of our being that He loves me because of Jesus' death. Do we deny ourselves and take up our own cross and follow Him?

Which crowd will you be part of this Easter?

As NCLC we will come together as our three campuses to worship and remember the sacrifice and the victory that Easter shows us. This is one of the great windows of opportunity we have to invite people from our world into our church community. Don't waste it.



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The Cry

Many of you who are from my home church NCLC will know that I have held little store in owning our own building as a base for our Sunday service venue. I could psychologise this as having moved around a fair bit as a child or just accept that maybe God wanted me to hold having a permanent base loosely in my heart.
That is up until now.
We have been moving around for the last six and half years. Last April we finally purchased our first piece of property- our offices in the centre of Newcastle. They are a very different setting from everything being run from what should have been our dining room.
We still have no home to base our Sunday services from and the many other ministries that I feel God has called us to impact our community with.
We have been looking for such a place.

Last week at our (too!) early prayer meeting we were praying for favour with the building and the local authorities in change of use. As we were praying I felt God impress on my heart the word "CRY". The building would be a place that evoke a cry.

The cry would be a cry from the broken.

A cry from those in anguish.

A cry from the desperate.

A cry that would change as people felt the presence of God in the building.

The cry would become a cry of release.

A cry of forgiveness.

A cry of wholeness.

A cry of gratitude.

How can a building illicit this?
Certainly not from a lick of paint or ambient lighting. A building can only see this response when it and the people who call it home are dedicated to welcoming home those in need and those who need to know the love, grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

NCLC, as a church will never be defined or confined by a building but a building that becomes a home can be an incredible tool. When we find a building that becomes our home, we will hear a cry that will resound across the North East.
Hope this helps you understand where we are heading as NCLC.
Love to hear your thoughts.



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Why I am not Glyn Barrett.

A few weeks ago we had Pastor Glyn Barrett with us at NCLC. I have to say that I believe Pastor Glyn is one of the most phenomenal pastors in the UK at the moment. He not only has an amazing teaching capacity but also is a real strategic thinker and church builder. So we had a fantastic weekend with Pastor Glyn and I feel that we grew because of his visit to us.

I feel we grew as a church but I also feel that God challenged me in a very specific way. As Glyn told the story of where they had come from and where God had brought them to, I began to slip into an old way of thinking. I was surprised that it was still there as it hadn't shown it's ugly head for quite some time. I began to compare myself with Pastor Glyn and compare our churches.

WOW! Where did that come from? 

Unfortunately that wasn't the worst of it. I then began to give reasons why I am not Glyn Barrett and why we can't have a similar influence and ministry as a church. In my head at the time they were reasonable. The problem was none of them held any weight or credence. They were not reasons, they were EXCUSES!

I haven't had the training he has had.

He has got more money coming in.

I could go on but the last thing you need to read is my whining in your head.

I hear people making the same excuses when they compare themselves to our church. We all have our insecurities and need to rely on God deal with them. Its not always a painless process. I was reminded of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Eustace had become the dragon and Aslan had to rip his skin off to make him human again. An extremely painful process. 

When God chooses to put his finger on parts of our life that we have not fully dealt with, it sometimes involves Him stripping away areas of our life that are so ingrained that it becomes extremely painful to remove them.

Comparison is one of those deeply entrenched ways of thinking in my life and God is not satisfied that it is still there. I am thankful that God's love for me extends to bringing discipline into my life, even if it does come through a Man City supporter. 

The process of becoming more Christ-like involves becoming less like ourselves. I am thankful that God has placed Pastor Glyn Barrett in my life and that I will continue to learn from him but Christ wants me to be like Him not make excuses why I am not Glyn Barrett.

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Hotel or House?

I was listening to a message a couple of weeks by a fantastic Australian pastor Danny Guglielmucci. He threw out an off the cuff question to his staff team which really challenged me. Are we building a place of visitation or habitation for God. This will probably have me thinking for some time, but I thought I might throw a few things down to see where it goes.

There is a distinct difference between setting up a place for someone who is coming to visit and for someone who lives there.

1. Visitors- you want to create an immediate impression so appearances are vital.

Residents- the long term improvement is your focus.

2. Visitors- you are only concerned about visitors while they are with you.

Residents- even when residents are not with you' they are still in your thoughts.

3. Visitors- you are not always that worried if they come back.

Residents- You would be worried if they were not there for any length of time.

4. Visitors- they do not leave a lasting impression your house.

Residents- everything in the house will remind you of them because they have put their touch on the house.

5. Visitors- are not really at home because it is not really their home if they only visit occasionally.

Residents- it is where they live and feel at home.

6. Visitors- you do not have to have any significant relationship to welcome a visitor.

Residents- when you live with someone your relationship grows and develops. You get to know them more.

I don't want our church community to have a visitation from God, I want Him to find a place of habitation. I want Him to feel at home, that He is not visiting a hotel but knows He can do what He likes because He is the head of the house.

Anyway just a few thoughts. I'm sure there are many more.

I would love you to leave your comments and add some more differences.

Jon

Unfriendly fire

One of the things that the internet has had the misfortune to perpetuate is the whole area of what is called Online Discernment Ministries. These are Christians who feel it is their duty to pretty much pull everything to pieces that doesn't fit with their own personal views on scripture.
I have been loathe to write this blog for some time as the last thing I want to do is fall into their way of online sniping.
I was going to call the blog "Friendly fire" but then found out that it is defined as "... inadvertent firing towards one's own friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces..." What I am talking about is neither inadvertent or an attempt to engage enemy forces. This is an outright attack on a fellow follower of Christ. The excuses given are often that people are in error & the Bible calls us to point out heresy.
A favourite misquoted scripture is Acts 17:11
11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

I see nothing noble about the often vicious diatribe that is written and spoken. There is also no eagerness to see if the message is true, rather a cruel delight in quoting people out of context and trying to find where they can point out the smallest of errors.

Yes I do believe that we need to search the scriptures to check if what is being spoken or written is sound Biblical doctrine. As a pastor I want to teach people to think, not just what to think. I want to create forums where people can ask questions and explore scripture together. Where we can help each other move forward in our relationship with God and understanding of His word. I don't see that happening with the proliferation of the modern day witch hunters.

The sad thing is, like blood-crazed dogs, they often turn on each other. Somewhere in the lust for heresy hunting, the Great Commission has been lost. People have turned from playground bullying to intellectual & spiritual bullying. A recent example I heard was of a street "preacher" bullying a young teenager because of the church he goes to????

This is not bringing people back to the cross, it is not making disciples or being salt & light to a dying world.
No wonder the world laughs at us. They can't hear the gospel because of the sound of unfriendly fire.
A Christian should be someone who reminds others of the personhood of Jesus Christ. Nothing in this reminds me or points people in my world to Jesus.
Ok rant over. What are your thoughts?



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Back to basics 1

Being in Tanzania back in December reminded me yet again what is important to us as a church. 

It is fantastic seeing the beginning of another campus for NCLC. As with a baby, the 1st few years are vital for the continued development and growth of church. The more we get right at the start the less damage control we have to do later on.
Having received the blessing of Judah Caleb Cook into our family 17 months ago the basics of having a baby are fresh in my mind. Babies are thoroughly dependent on their caregiver and expect certain things from them- food, shelter, protection, love and not forgetting clearing up the mess they make. Planting a church or a campus is not too dissimilar.

As leaders we need to feed the church community, provide shelter & protection, give it love and clear up the mess that they make. When you haven't done it for a while you can forget the sleepless nights, the worry of getting it right and the cost of a newborn. Our NCLC Tanzania campus has reminded me of all this. The team of the Cotteys and the Hintons are doing a phenomenal job in getting things started but those of us who are parents all know how much easier life is when you have the support of our community around us. We also know how draining it can be when we feel we have to go through it alone. The UK NCLC campuses need to make sure that this baby and her parents over here not only know intellectually that they are connected and supported by us but also practically.

A couple of months ago Dee and I had the privilege of being in the USA and regularly phoned our kids back home. It was so good to hear their voices. Whilst in Tanzania I have Face Timed or Skyped home. The difference of not just hearing a voice but also SEEING a face has been unbelievable. Technology has made life apart so much better. The old saying "Out of sight, out of mind" is so true. The reverse is also true. With people in our view, whether in person or via technology, they are always fresh in our mind. When we connect let's try to connect with the team there visibly. They are bringing up a newborn and she is growing quickly.

Let's stay in touch with every method possible. 

My next blog will begin to look a bit more closely at how to raise a healthy baby/church community.

Tell me how you will keep the Tanzania team in sight and mind. 

Hopelessly devoted to you.

Hopelessly devoted to you.

Today I was listening to some classic tunes from the film Top Gun. It brought back some great memories of years gone by. In the weird way my mind works at times, I ended up humming the classic Grease song by Olivia Newton John "Hopelessly devoted to you." It was sad I know but we have all done something as equally cheesy.

Anyway with those the only four words of the song that I know they began to go round in my head. I began to think about the words I was singing. 

What am I devoted to?

Is there a hopelessness about my devotion, an unrequited love.

Or is it a devotion that brings hope?

As we move into a brand new year I need to check-

• The direction of my devotion
• That my devotion level is high.
• That my devotion is filled with hope.

Direction of devotion

What am I devoting my life to? Not just the grand ideas and values that I have but how does that translate to my everyday life. To my time, my finances, my language & my emotional buy-in.

The direction of my devotion must always line up with the Word of God, our plumb-line. What does the Bible tell us that our life should be devoted to?

Firstly it should be given over and devoted to God. There should be no thing and no one that comes before him. When God asked Abraham for his son God didn't want the sacrifice, He wanted to know of Abraham's totally obedience. Who was higher in Abraham's devotion, his son Isaac or his God, Yahweh. God asks us the same question. Who receives your devotion?

There are other people or things that need our devotion. Are we devoted to our spouse? Are we devoted to them above our children. Tough question but a Biblical principle. 

Acts 2 :42 informs us of what the early church community devoted themselves to.

The teaching the apostles had reached from Jesus

The fellowship- not just fellowship, but THE fellowship.

The breaking of bread- keeping what Christ had done  for them at the centre of their thinking.

Prayer- close, intimate, regular communication with God.

Does our life follow similar patterns?

Devotion level

I'm not really sure if you can measure the level of devotion. Are we just devoted or not? Whether we can measure it or not, people around us should be able to look at our lives and be able to see that there is something slightly unbalanced about our lives as devoted people are never balanced people.

Hope filled devotion

Does my devotion cause my life to be filled with hope whatever the circumstances around seem to show? Hebrews 11 shows us a group of people who were devoted to someone that caused their lives to be filled with the actions of faith and the certainty of hope. 

Lately, probably more than ever, I am filled with the hope of what Christ is doing and where He is leading us as a church. Circumstances would not seem to show this. In seven Sundays we will be without a venue, finances are incredibly tight and we are still in the grip of a global recession. 

So my hope cannot come from circumstances. My hope MUST come from someone that is bigger than my or even world circumstances.

The only way that our devotion can be hope-filled is to place it on the rock of ages, the God of eternity, the healer of the sick, the provider, the grace giver, the releaser of the captives, the forgiver of sinners, the lifter of the downtrodden, the home builder for the homeless, the only giver of hope who is totally worthy of our devotion

So my question is how will your world see the object of your devotion today?